Golf & The Things That Matter Most

This Father’s Day I didn’t go golfing. Not that I’m any good, but I enjoy times I can go out and loose a couple sleeves of balls. However, it’s not just this last weekend I didn’t go golfing… I haven’t golfed in a year and a half. I really do like it, but like so many things in life we make time for the things that matter most.

See, the other half of the story isn’t about not being able to golf. It’s about what I did instead. This last year I was consumed with completing an adoption on a short timeline. And although the timeline made some parts a little crazy that wasn’t the most difficult part. No, what was crazy was getting funds together for a process that is by no means inexpensive. Our time got wrapped up in fundraising, grant writing and doing our best to cut out any expense that took away from bringing our son home… i.e. golf.

“Not that any of these things are bad, we had just found something better – something we knew was worth sacrificing for.”

I wasn’t alone in this though, my wife gave up countless opportunities for personal leisure, my kids trimmed out extras like gymnastics and a new Nintendo Switch, and we passed on opportunities to go to Disney the last couple years. Not that any of these things are bad, we had just found something better – something we knew was worth sacrificing for. Rather than sitting back and assuming things could work out, we took action.

As I listened to Pastor Mike talk about our Christian call to exterminate passivity in our lives, I considered how this looks as a holistic approach to living. Are we going with the flow of what everyone else is doing and leading ourselves and our families into a lifestyle of passivity?

Let me say a little more to that point. Have we let our goals of leisure, entertainment or achievement force us to take a passive stance anytime we’re offered an opportunity to make a difference? I would argue that more than simply not doing something, we have chosen to fill our lives with things for our benefit first and foremost – things that make Kingdom-building opportunities inconvenient.

“Have we let our goals of leisure, entertainment or achievement force us to take a passive stance anytime we’re offered an opportunity to make a difference?”

Our passivity is fueled by inconvenience and a “it doesn’t affect me” mentality. We excuse our way out of action by overanalyzing and asking questions like, “well, where do I draw the line?” But at the end of the day, that is the wrong question to be asking. The better question is, “how much does the Kingdom of Christ matter to me?”

Our passivity begins to dissipate when we are passionate for something.

I didn’t have to question once, if giving up a round of golf was worth it. Some decisions weren’t as easy though, and if I’m honest, I still made decisions that choose me first. But the reality is, I don’t see any positive Biblical examples of people that chose themselves over the Kingdom – rather, I see example after example of people giving everything for a cause they believed in.*

This week, I encourage you to take a stand and ask yourself what’s really important to you. In the end, we make space for what we deem important and the other stuff falls away naturally as we draw closer to God and clear the way for His love to be felt throughout the world.